Good Game Titles (By Which I mean the Title Itself, Not the Game)

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

Here's my subjective list. Chosen mainly because the title is funny/intriguing/have nice ring to it:

Ben There, Dan That
Grim Fandango
SUPERHOT - i might've fallen the victim of marketing ploy here, but damn

m/ Br?tal Legend m/
Grand Theft Auto
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition
Jet Set Radio
Mount & Blade
One Man's Lie No Guy Buy Why Sean Why No Man's Sky
Quake
Papers, please!
(Sam & Max)The Devil's Playhouse
Stellaris
VVVVVV

 

[PilgrimScott_III]

Several of my faves have been mentioned already. Hopefully these are still fresh:

Sword of the Stars (it has a nice rhythm to it, and promises something epic)
Painkiller (just sounds badass)
Max Payne (same as above, plus it's memorable)
Trauma Center: Under the Knife (immediately draws your attention and curiosity)
Alan Wake (rolls off the tongue, and has a nice ring to it)
Dead or Alive (promises plenty of action)
Elite Beat Agents (has a good rhythm, which is fitting for a rhythm game. Also memorable for sheer weirdness)
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (has an ominous, suspenseful feel like the game itself)
Virtue's Last Reward (the ambiguity leaves you curious to what really goes on in the game)
Gravity Rush (honestly can't say how, it just sounds cool to me)
Invisible Inc. (nice little play on words)
Mark of the Ninja (again, just sounds badass)
Child of Eden (rolls off the tongue nicely)

 

[OpticalJunction]

Amnesia: the dark descent

Soma

Driver San Francisco

The Secret of Monkey Island

The Binding of Isaac

Crysis

Assassin's Creed

Dungeon Siege

Sleeping Dogs

The Last Remnant

Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble

Jagged Alliance: Back in Action

Mass Effect

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

Symphony of the Night- something about that title is just so evocative.
System Shock- wonderful alliteration, just rolls right off the tongue.
Beneath a Steel Sky has always stuck out to me for some reason.

 

[Baffle]

immediately brings shouts of "Move it!" and "Just back off!" to mind.

I always have the guy that sounds a bit like a horse: 'mhhhhooove!'

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

Red Dead Revolver
Like the name more than the sequel's, great rhythm to it, sounds like what it is
XCOM: Terror from the Deep
Captures the ambiance of the game perfectly
Max Payne
Just a nifty, memorable name. The gag I remember, NPC thugs talking about it in their Brooklyn accent makes it even more memorable. "Who's that guy? Was it Max HURT?"
Jagged Alliance
Sounds great, captures the setting of mercs/guerilla/militia against oppressed country
Sleeping Dogs
Can't remember if it has anything to do with the game, but it's a cool name
Kane & Lynch
Out of all the 2 protagonist names for any game/movie/series, this was one of the best. And I actually enjoyed the games, a lot
Hotline Miami
Speaks for itself, goes well with the 80's neon synth-electro theme

 

[klaynexas3]

Frozen Synapse

I never made it far in Frozen Synapse, and while I like the name, does it really explain much about the game's world or anything like that? I really am asking, like I said, I never made it far, so it might actually explain some huge plot point that I never made it to.

OT: For me, I'd have to go with inFamous, just because it really shows the aspect of having the moral choice gameplay mechanic that is so heavy in the game. Just by changing the spelling, you get somewhat of a picture of what to expect, and that's only with one word in the title.

Gears of War is another I'd add to the list, as I've never even played the games, but from what I hear of the story, it sounds very much like that is who you are and who your comrades are, you're just pieces in the machine of war.

Kingdom Hearts had a good naming convention when it was only one title. It describes a place central to the plot, and shows how important hearts are just in general to the world. Even Chain of Memories wasn't an awful name, as it was strictly about delving into memories of Sora, and the way they connected together to make Sora who he is. The second game was concise with what it was, it was a sequel, there wasn't much else needed. Then we got 358/2 Days and Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance and Final Mixes and just an absolute clusterfuck that symbolizes how convoluted the plot turned into anyway. Don't get me wrong, I love the plot for all it's stupidity, but even so, they could have done something better with the names after that.

 

[DoPo]

Frozen Synapse

I never made it far in Frozen Synapse, and while I like the name, does it really explain much about the game's world or anything like that? I really am asking, like I said, I never made it far, so it might actually explain some huge plot point that I never made it to.

It describes the gameplay. It's "frozen" because of the turn based thing where everything is paused and "synapse" is because (IMO) the visuals could be likened to synaptic links or signals alternatively (or additionally), it's because of the squad commands you give out that makes them work similar to the nervous system.

 

[EMWISE94]

The Good Stuff!
Enter the Gungeon - puns in the fungeon!
Nuclear Throne - just sounds cool
Don't Starve - I'm a bit of a fan of names that are instructions
Guilty Gear - Just rolls of the tongue

The Bad Stuff!
Blazblue - apparently they forgot to put the 'e' in 'blaze' and just said fuck it, so I always pronounce it 'Blahz' rather than 'blaze', much to the ire of its somewhat touchy fans.
(insert game name that has things tacked on to show its an update) - It gets ridiculous especially with some japanese fighting games, like Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R, Metly Blood -Actress Again- Current Code, etc
Colons in game titles that only have one title in their non-franchise - It bugs me somewhat, I can understand in some cases you wanna put a subtitle to your name, but why not a damn comma like the good lord intended.
Misuse of leet speak - So i just realized that most of the bad examples are more broader naming conventions, but it just gets done so often that they gotta, case in point misuse of leet speak, F.3.A.R is fine in my opinion, Thi4f... not so much.

 

[The Abhorrent]

I'm a bit surprised this thread has gone on this long without one obvious example being mentioned:

Shadow of the Colossus

Big, ominous, and clearly implying something very grand; fitting for one of the most beloved games of all time.
Also comes coupled with the best tagline of all time:

Some mountains are scaled. Others are slain.

 

[maninahat]

Deus Ex
Mirror's Edge
Frozen Synapse
Plants vs. Zombies

I'd give points for Deus Ex for not only being interesting sounding, but also relevant to the subject matter, being that its about machines and all.

Mirror's Edge Less so, for sounding a bit corporate brain stormy-ish. I'd just have called it Edge. Mirrors play no actual part in the game, metaphorically or literally. Glass does.

On hearing the name Frozen Synapse, I immediately thought of body horror set in an arctic waste, and was surprised to learn it is actually a low-rez style strategy game. Thus I think it has the same problem as Mirror's Edge - they use evocative language with only the vaguest relevance.

Plants vs Zombies is the finest name ever made.

 

[josemlopes]

Timesplitters
Second Sight
Just Cause
Crackdown
Hotline Miami
Doom
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Jagged Alliance

 

[chrissx2]

Litil Divil
Mortyr
Retribiution
Creature Shock

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

For Honor is a good one. Now, if only I could play the fucking game...

What else? Mass Effect and Dragon Age are both nice, simple, distinctive titles that are also relevant to the story of the game. Bloodborne is a nifty one when you connect it to the game's well-crafted atmosphere of disease, impurity, vampirism, and menstruation. (Don't look at me funny, it's true.)

My favourites would be the indie ones because of how irreverent they get. Papers, Please. A Machine for Pigs, that's an eye-catching one; you want to play the game just to make sense of the title. Cthulhu Saves The World, even if I didn't really like it that much. Orcs Must Die!; very direct, gets to the point quickly.

Oh, and also: South Park: The Fractured But Whole. Can't forget to mention that one!

 

[Imre Csete]

Assault Android Cactus

Now if that title doesn't evoke the image of a thorny robot plant with hightech weponry goin' to town on everything, then nothing does.

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

oh, i got another one:

Keyboard Drumset Fucking Werewolf